Our wandering albatross couple have become proud parents for the tenth time as their chick hatched on the 21st of March – right on time for its due date! It began pecking its way through the egg on the 19th, and finally made its way out into the chilly South Georgia air a few days later.

Our little wanderer just hatching- can you spot the beak?

Success! After three days our chick was finally born

Our Albatross mum Amelia laid the egg back on the 2nd January, and both parents have patiently been incubating it for 78 days, but that’s just the start of their parenting journey. They now have nine months of finding food and caring for the chick ahead of them – parenthood is a big commitment!

But these parents are very experienced; Atlas and Amelia had been together for an impressive 25 years with nine chicks hatched, raised, and fledged before number 10 came along. With all their experience we hope that this chick stands a really good chance of reaching adulthood.

It’s been a big month for Atlas – turning 40 and becoming a dad for the 13th time is not something that happens every day! He had his first chick back in 1987 with a different partner, but had his first chick with his current partner back in 1998. Amelia is 36 and is happily settled with Atlas, her one and only partner.

Proud parents Amelia and Atlas at the nest (Amelia is on the nest)

The scientists on Bird Island have been working hard monitoring the albatross colony and have captured some great shots of our newest #AlbatrossStories character just emerging from its egg. It won’t be long until the chick is being left on its own while Amelia and Atlas both head out to sea to find food. Keep your eyes out for another naming competition for a chance to decide what it should be called.

We can’t wait to see it grow into a gorgeous ball of fluff – and you can watch it with us! Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to keep up to date with the chick’s progress and all our other albatross stars.

Our floofy wanderer chick a few days old

Photos by Derren Fox, Rosie Hall and Steph Prince.

This project is funded by Darwin Plus, and the South Georgia Heritage Trust.